Insulin resistance CAN provide clues on where PCOS comes from. Fascinating stuff.

I had low LH/FSH readings when my last cyst ruptured. I'm not super sure why they were low when I had an obvious case of estrogen dominance, but this explains it.

"These findings demonstrate that estrogen has a direct inhibitory effect on pituitary responsiveness to GnRH in women. This estrogen negative feedback diminishes with aging. FSH but not LH responses are inhibited by estrogen."
http://journals.lww.com/obgynsurvey/Abstract/2010/10000/Estrogen_Negative_Feedback_on_Gonadotropin.13.aspx

1. hypothyroidism can cause estrogen dominance.
http://www.breastcanceralternatives.org/iodineref.html
http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/IOD-10/IOD_10.htm
Very possible, esp. when we may not get enough iodine in the first place and we're exposed to iodine blockers such as bromide, fluoride and perchlorates (and God knows what else).

2.Estrogen Dominance causes Insulin Resistance. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1563522/posts
http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/183
It's also been cited that estrogen dominance interferes with thyroid hormone activity. It can turn into a vicious cyclical right here.
http://www.health-science.com/hypothyroidism.html

Isn't this fun yet?!!! There's more!!!

This is one area where it can turn into a disastrous cycle. If a woman only gets hypothyroidism from estrogen dominance, it could be from xenoestrogens. It can also come from the birth control pill. Isn't this fun yet? It gets better!

3. Insulin resistance leads to inflammatory disease (where a woman can get high levels of androgens and exhibit other issues ie. hirutism). Inflammations are literally the rusting or oxidation of cells, and it happens when glucose (in insulin resistant people) attach itself to mutated cells (caused by mutated proteins) and they become advanced glycation end products. This causes anti-inflammatory disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Sometimes when women get inflammation issues, their body attacks the thyroid and creates even more problems. Yet another vicious cycle.


This is what tipped me off:
"RESULTS: There were no differences in SigmaPG, SigmaIRI, I.I., FPG/IRI or HOMA-R between PCOS and controls. However, there were significant differences in SigmaPG, SigmaIRI, FPG/IRI and HOMA-R between obese and normal body-weighted patients."

the translations:

SigmaPG-plasma glucose
Glucose is the primary sugar that is made from the foods and beverages a person consumes. This glucose travels through the bloodstream to provide energy to cells in all regions of the body. Plasma glucose refers to the amount of this primary sugar that is found in the liquid portion of the blood.

When blood is collected using a home-testing kit or in a professional laboratory, it is whole blood. Blood sugar levels, however, are usually measured in terms of the amount of plasma glucose.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-plasma-glucose.htm

SigmaIRI-insulin

Insulin is a hormone that is central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin

I.I.-insulinogenic index - The ratio of insulin to glucose, a measure of the effect of meals on prediabetics

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/insulinogenic+index

FPG/IRI- fasting plasma glucose/immunoreactive insulin

The fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test, also known as the fasting blood sugar test, measures blood sugar levels and is used to diagnose diabetes. Relatively simple and inexpensive, the test exposes problems with insulin functioning.

FPG-Prolonged fasting triggers a hormone called glucagon, which is produced by the pancreas. It causes the liver to release glucose (blood sugar) into the bloodstream. If a person doesn’t have diabetes, his or her body reacts by producing insulin, which prevents hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). However, if one’s body cannot generate enough insulin or cannot appropriately respond to insulin, fasting blood sugar levels will stay high.http://diabetes.about.com/od/symptomsdiagnosis/a/fpgtest.htm

Immunoreactive insulin-that portion of insulin in blood measured by immunochemical methods for the hormone; presumed to represent the free (unbound) and biologically active fraction of total blood insulin.

HOMA-R=homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance is a method used to quantify insulin resistance and beta-cell function.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeostatic_model_assessment

http://www.mims.com/Page.aspx?menuid=pubmeddetail&pmid=medline10n0558%5C16972071.xml&h=Dextrose

-Similarly, there were no differences in SigmaPG, SigmaIRI, I.I., FPG/IRI or HOMA-R between PCOS and controls in the normal body-weighted group.

-However, there were significant differences in SigmaPG, SigmaIRI, FPG/IRI and HOMA-R between the obese and the normal body-weighted PCOS.

-There were also significant differences in SigmaPG and I.I. between LH-dominant, normal body-weighted PCOS and normal LH PCO."
"Japanese PCOS might have insulin-resistance but the factor of obesity had a stronger effect on insulin-resistance than did the existence of PCOS. The possibility of a different type of glucose-intolerance was suggested in the patients with ultrasonographical PCO in whom gonadotropin secretion was abnormal."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16972071

PCOS HAS DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSULIN RESISTANCES. THIS COULD HELP A GREAT DEAL TO FIND OUT WHAT OUR TRIGGERS ARE THAT CAUSED OUR SYNDROME. :-)

Knowledge and Wisdom= Courage and Hope